UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

The University's Corner: 1957-2004

Newton D. Baker Memorial Building

With the removal of Cleveland College from its downtown location on Public Square to University Circle, a new building was needed. Hatch Library was razed in 1956 and construction for the Baker Building began in 1957. The building was named for Newton D. Baker, a trustee of WRU and a key supporter of Cleveland College. (The old Cleveland College building downtown was also named for him.) The name of Hatch was retained on the site, however, by naming the new auditorium in Baker, the Hatch Auditorium.

This aerial view of campus from the early 1960s shows the central position of Baker on campus.

Baker Building as seen in the context of its neighbors ca. 1970: Crawford Hall
and Amasa Stone Chapel to the west and Adelbert Main to the south.

The north side of Baker Building facing Euclid Avenue in the 1970s. The Hatch Auditorium is in the one-story section on the right.

The Adelbert Road side (eastern face) of Baker, 1960s.

The western side of Baker Building from the corner of Euclid Avenue
and East Boulevard in the 1950s.